Need some guide from the Sifu's here on upgrading my PC.
My current PC super duper loud, annoying as heck... Aurora R12 11th Gen Intel i7-11700F@2.5GHz RAM 32GB GPU : RTX3080
Would appreciate any recommendation/advice... no particular brand love, just looking for the best value for money. (No monitor/Mouse/keyboard etc required)
Thinking : Budget pls dont exceed RM10k CPU - AMD? Heard current AMB better value for money MOBO - Totally no idea GPU - 5080? Casing - Fractal (or beQuiet) RAM/SSD/PSU
I have a fractal casing 10 yrs ago, very quiet i like it alot (maybe cooling not so good and fan inside working overtime but I cant hear it anyway).
I have been checking places liek IdealTech (cause they have Fractal casing), i double check their GPU pricing, its around same as AllIT so thats kinda ok for me.
(Usage if anyone cares, browsing, some games like MMO, SpaceMarines2, RPG, etc. I upgrade my PC every ~4/5 yrs. I run a Samsung Odyssey G7 32" monitor)
then just get the cheapest case on shopee then. u get what you pay for
i did try water cooling for myself using a monsta 360 radiator, but for me it wasn't worth it. primarily because u have to purchase the replacement water block for the graphics card and sometimes even for the cpu cooler.
fan cooler is just simpler. My fractal torrent at the time was the best fan cooling case (was it for 2021?). Just works and less complication.
when i did a stress test my own pc desktop, max 75.5C, with a min of 52c. I use a frzn A720 cpu cooler in addition to the fractal torrent case (not even using an exhaust fan. just the default fans from front and bottom).
here is for more budget conscious users
interesting 2025 roundup by gamers nexus (dont worry he mentioned some budget varieties)
for myself when i'm looking at a case, i want to also know how it compare to other cases for cooling. example, gamers nexus did a comparison for my case. also the noise comparisons between cases (usually with the stock cooler fans)
i replaced my cpu, cpu cooler, ram and motherboard. but i didnt replace my fractal torrent case cause in 2025 it's still brilliant
This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Aug 31 2025, 01:42 PM
Right now i just recommend the lancool 207 for almost all ATX builds. Simply unmatched case and thermals design tbh.
QUOTE
Lian Li Lancool 207 Airflow Case Review | Cable Management, Build Quality, & Benchmarks
October 21, 2024
Last Updated: 2024-10-21 Lian Li’s Lancool 207 excels thermally and is budget friendly but struggles in basic areas
The Lian Li Lancool 207 is the new best-performing case on our thermal charts -- and it’s $80. The case shoves the power supply to the front to accommodate 2 shroud-top fans that are closer to the floor of the case, providing intake directly into the GPU. The front of the case has a shaped front inlet for 2x 140mm fans cooling the rest, and the back is entirely ventilation to allow exhaust.
From a usability perspective, it struggles in some key and basic areas: Cable management is challenging. Closing the right side panel isn’t always easy, especially if you have more cables, thicker gauge wire and sleeving, or accessories that add a ton of cabling. The side panel is tool-less and the back compartment is shallow, with the PSU’s orientation complicating power supply length and cable bends.
for the thermal charts it's indeed good for the price, but with some caveats (still ok unless the cons is an issue for you)
one difference between it and my case is where the hard drives get installed which is inside the case front side, just below the motherboard and beside the psu. whereas, mine has ample space BEHIND the motherboard, and i can install multiple 3.5'' and 2.5'' hard drives/ssds there. So unless you need the space to add more drives, then something like this lian li is not bad. Anyway typically these days there are few sata ports usually about 4. rest is usually for m.2 nvme ssd slots installed directly on the motherboard.
This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Sep 1 2025, 04:27 AM
Most ppl dont have that many HDD, but if they want to add more HDD to store a ton of stuff then definitely go for EATX type case. Those have a lot of HDD bays. Nowadays as long as mobo have like 4 nvme slots its pretty good enough already. But nvme now are still a bit pricey.
depends. not sure what u consider pricey. Also if u get a gen3 or gen4, it would be cheaper than a gen5. Then if you cap your purchase to 2tb at tops, then you can avoid those 4tb and 8tb ssds that are too expensive for most people.
500-1tb pricing not too bad. 2tb is somewhat ok. beyond that for m2 nvme e.g. 4tb is still premium price.
for pricing, people either settle for gen3 or gen4 m2 nvme ssds. Gen4 run hotter than gen 3 fyi. And gen5 some reckon the speeds for these aren't really needed, so they drop back down to getting either a gen3 or gen4.
ACER Predator GM7000 M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4 SSD with Heatsink (1TB/2TB/4TB/512GB) - 5 Years Warranty for RM669
doesnt seem to be on sale, so during a sale should be able to get it at even better prices.
for a typical pc, get a 2tb gen3 or gen4 m2 nvme ssd (ideally tlc) with a decent TBW.
then for storage get a HDD.
Done
pc game file sizes huge these days. so for boot drive and games i would recommend the 2tb.
for downloads use the cheaper hdd for bulk storage. ssd is for the OS, apps and games for latency and speed benefits for that application. Or if you have high speed broadband and you download a lot then ssd is a must.
in comparison, i saw this 8TB SSD
WESTERN DIGITAL WD BLACK SN850X 8TB NVMe INTERNAL SSD GAMING WITH HEATSINK - WDS800T2XHE
going for Rm 5.4k i DO NOT recommend buying it (unless you are rich then go ahead). too expensive, and it's a gen4 not gen5. not good value.
Dotatech is selling the 2tb version for this WD model for RM 919.00 which is a few hundred more than the Acer Predator GM6
when buying ssd pay attention to
- price - capacity size (1-2tb though i recommend 2tb) - gen (normally gen3 or gen4 is good enough. expected to pay more for gen5 but what do you get? nothing that would a big difference to you so why pay more for that) - Sustained Write Performance and Cache Recovery (you can see how well it fares in sustained writes, whether it throttles or if there is some sort thermal issue during prolonged usage. This observation usually tells you if the ssd is any good or not). - endurance TBW (this is how long your ssd will last. the bigger the TBW the better)
I'm not recommending this particular SP drive, because "Slow direct-to-TLC write speed "
if you look around you may be able to find something that performs better with good tbw @ 2tb for rm500-600 i assume
for gen4 you can get between that and rm500-600. cheaper on sales (best time to buy)
SP i noticed pulled a bait and switch
it's not just SP, some other brands did it too, but the only reason i mentioned siliconpower since that one i know for sure. So even if the reviews say its good, you still need to search whether they pulled a bait and switch at some point, then the reviews becomes irrelevant.
dont bother with sata ssd they are already dated, especially when consider price, you can get a m2 nvme for similar or better. So UNLESS your machine is limited to saya, then dont get sata ssd. Last time for sata ssd i bought crucial MX500. Those were good ssds for that
This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Sep 2 2025, 06:43 AM